Wanderlust

The 2,000 year old Roman walls that encircle the city are the longest, most complete, and oldest, still standing in Britain today. A walk around the walls will take 45 minutes to an hour depending on how fast you walk and how often you stop. You can see the entire city from the walls, including the UK's oldest racecourse and the Eastgate Clock - one of the most photographed clocks in England. There’s a lovely place to stop by the river, where you can watch the boats float by while tucking into an ice cream. Take centre stage at the Roman Amphitheatre The Roma

As I bowled along the roads linking Herefordshire’s ‘Black and White Villages’ (named in honour of their two-tone buildings), I believed, for a second, in time travel. Here, in one of England’s least populated counties, little appeared to have changed for decades, centuries even.

For somewhere as fabled as the ‘birthplace of British tourism’, the narrow, steep lane leading to Symonds Yat’s waterfront was remarkably quiet. In fact, it almost felt like a dead end until I turned a tight corner and there was the River Wye, spread out before me in all its glory.

Kraków's enchanting Main Market Square sits in the centre of the old town and is the beating heart of the city. It is surrounded by some of Kraków’s most iconic sights and offers a glorious vista at every turn.

It’s easy to see why Styria is eulogised as the ‘Green Heart’ of landlocked Austria. The state is almost 60% tree-cloaked and home to one national park – Gesäuse – and seven nature parks. Hiking is the traditional way of exploring, and there are options to suit all, from testing routes among high peaks that top out at 2,995m to long-distance forays, lovely lake loops and low-level walks for more amateur amblers. Myriad other summer pursuits are possible, including superb mountain-biking, plus you can ski year-round.

Best known for a book festival held every June, Hay on Wye sits beside the River Wye, just inside the border of England and Wales on the Welsh side. If you miss the festival, browse the bookshelves in the grounds of Hay Castle, dropping a donation into the honesty box. Look out too for rare titles in Hay on Wye Booksellers or second-hand books in Richard Booth’s Bookshop, a multi-storey shop named after a local who is credited for establishing the town’s reputation for books.

Encircled by the Trave River, the island-set city of Lübeck is one of Germany’s most charming towns – a cluster of centuries-old Gothic redbricks, dreamy spires and tight-packed alleys rich in medieval character.

Hamburg often pales in comparison to more laissez-faire, laid-back and hipster Berlin. But dig deeper into Germany’s second-largest city and you’ll find there’s more than meets the eye: it is brash, energetic, cosmopolitan, commercial, artsy, wealthy and a bit seedy – but never dull.

It would be impossible to mention Manchester and not talk about football. The city’s two teams have a long history of rivalry and boast fans all over the world. The home of Manchester United, Old Trafford, and the home of Manchester City, Etihad Stadium, offer tours and should be on any fan’s to-do list. For neophytes and anyone with an interest in the game, the National Football Museum is a must visit attraction in the centre of the city, next to Manchester Cathedral. The museum is not just about the Mancunian teams – it exhibits artefacts, photographs and stories about the culture surrounding the game.

Compact and walkable, the capital’s Old Town is sandwiched between University Square, Boulevard Bratianu and the Dambovita River. While parts of the old town, or Lipscani, were built in the 15th century, much of it dates back to the 18th and 19th century after surviving the bombs of the Second World War and Communist-era city planning in the 1980s.

Visitors have been flocking to the Kent coast since the early 1700s, recognising the health benefits of bathing in sea water. Margate led the way, introducing mobile bathing machines with modesty hoods in 1753 – a canvas canopy attached to a horse and cart that let bathers discreetly immerse themselves in the water without anyone judging whether or not they were ‘beach ready’.

No Scottish isle boasts as many whisky distilleries as the hallowed ‘Whisky Isle’ so get stuck in to its nine distilleries. Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig tempt in the south in whitewashed Victorian splendour, with eponymous Bowmore in the island capital similarly historic, plus it handily has a town attached. Bruichladdich sits across the other side of Loch Indaal on the Rhinns of Islay peninusla, while Kilchoman lies just inland from Machir Bay on Islay’s north coast. Ardnahoe recently joined its siblings – Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila – out east on the Sound of Islay.

The changeable autumn light showed off the luminous beauty of St Ives. Even when it was cloudy there was a soft focus glow across the whitewashed cottages of the town, and the sands and waves would shimmer, regardless at which of the several beaches you were looking over. Then, when the sun broke through, it was like being in the Mediterranean, the sea would turn cerulean blue, and you knew why so many artists have based themselves here over the years.

Covering one fifth of Estonia, the country’s most ancient bog dates back 10,000 years. The uninhabited bogs are seen as places of peace and mystery, making them a poignant part of Estonian folklore. Visit at sunrise or sunset, when the dwindling light makes the already mystifying area even more enticing, and you may see animals that have adapted to live in the bogs. Visit in autumn when the landscape becomes a palette of reds, browns and yellows, and the water has not frozen over yet, as it does in winter. The Kõrvemaa bog tour explores Northern and Southern Kõrvemaa, which are known for their untouched hills, forests and lakes. Follow the boardwalk paths or don specially adapted bog shoes for a walk in the wetland. Discover how the bogs were formed and their cultural significance, or go for a swim in a bog lake.

According to local legend, the Brecon Beacons took their name from ancient signal fires lit on the mountains to warn of invaders. Whether that’s true or not, there’s clearly been a fear of invasion in this part of South Wales, with castles, forts and other defensive sites right across the Brecon Beacons National Park, from the Iron Age through to Second World War anti-tank blocks. Many of the defences are still standing.

With a population of 290,000, the eastern city of Iasi is Romania’s second largest metropolis after the capital Bucharest. Also known as Jassy, it is set on the Bahlui River – a tributary of the Prut River, which marks the Romania and Moldova border.

Set almost in the middle of the country, Lithuania’s second city is 92km from the capital of Vilnius. Two rivers – Neris and Nemunas (Neman) meet close to the Old Town, a compact tangle of streets. The centrepiece is Town Hall Square, which hosts events such as a Christmas Market.

History Strung across a hook-shaped peninsula on a dramatic archipelago, Ålesund has long been an important centre of fishing and shipbuilding, as well as a gateway to the fjords and Sunnmøre Alps inland. A 1904 fire led to Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm rebuilding the whole town in Jugendstil Art Nouveau style, and it still boasts a remarkable collection of buildings with fairytale turrets and ornamentation. Like Bergen, the Hurtigruten ferry up the Norwegian coast stops here regularly.

If you’re up for a challenge, tackle the 305km Coast to Coast trail, which stretches from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire. The British fell walker and guidebook author Alfred Wainwright devised this walk in the early 1970s, and it has attracted keen hikers ever since. Over 19 days, you’ll cross from the coastal village of St Bees on England’s west coast though three English National Parks – the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors – before finishing with a paddle in Robin Hood’s Bay, just south of Whitby. Along the way you may spot osprey soaring over Lake Ennerdale, see why the poet William Wordsworth was so taken by Grasmere village and meet locals in a tearoom in Danby Wiske. Book a Self-Guided Walking: Coast to Coast trip with KE Adventure Travel, which includes luggage transfers and B&B accommodation.

Construction on the city’s grand cathedral began in 1072, on the orders of William the Conqueror. Highlights include an eye-catching organ, 19th century murals and the Lincoln imp – a stone engraving of a mischievous sprite tucked into the top of a pillar. Now an emblem of the city, legend has it that young imps were once let loose on the cathedral, causing havoc. To put a stop to this, an angel turned them into stone.

This is a ‘what a time to be on the planet, in this room, right now’ type of whisky,” beamed Ron, the head tour guide at Ardbeg. Despite the ravages of the pandemic I agreed with Ron; not just on the 45-year-old dram. This was, and is, a special time to be at my favourite Islay distillery, the whitewashed dame that has stood firm against the Atlantic since Queen Victoria was on the throne. It was and is a special time to be on Islay too, a life affirming oasis; a safe port, even, in the Covid-19 storm.